Discovery Family
Discovery Family 'is an American digital cable and satellite television channel owned by Discovery Communications, marketed as a family-friendly network with a mix of original and acquired children's programs, such as Hasbro's ''My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, Littlest Pet Shop and Transformers themed shows, along with family-oriented science and nature-themed programs. The network's launch was announced on September 25, 2014, following reports earlier in the year that Hub Network president Margaret Loesch would step down by the end of the year and Discovery acquiring a 60% stake in the channel, and officially launched on October 13 of the same year. History '''Background Discovery Family's origins trace back to June 12, 2014, when it was reported that Margaret Loesch announced that she would step down from her role as Hub Network president and CEO by the end of 2014. On September 17, 2014, The Wall Street Journal reported that Discovery Communications was preparing to acquire a controlling stake in Hub Network from Hasbro, and then re-brand it as Discovery Family. Hasbro staff, along with Discovery's CFO Andrew Warren, acknowledged that increasing competition in the children's media landscape—especially by subscription video-on-demand services such as Netflix, had an effect on the overall performance of the network and Hasbro's original content. As it was majority-owned by a competitor, other major toy companies such as Mattel refused to purchase advertising time on Hub Network, affecting its ability to air advertising that targeted its main audience; by 2014, the network had made only $9 million per year. Discovery staff was also unable to display a full commitment to Hub Network's operation, due to factors such as the troubled launch of the Oprah Winfrey Network. Believing that they had overvalued its stake in the venture, Hasbro decided to cede the operation of the network to Discovery so it could focus more on content and its core toy business. Discovery and Hasbro publicly announced the planned re-branding on September 25, 2014; Hasbro's CEO Brian Goldnerexplained that Discovery Family would be the "next chapter" in its joint venture with Discovery, "combining highly rated award-winning storytelling around Hasbro's brands and Discovery's most popular non-fiction shows that appeal to both children and families alike." Launch On October 13, 2014 at 6:00 a.m ET, Hub Network was re-launched as Discovery Family—just over four years since the original launch of The Hub. With these changes, Discovery Communications now holds a 60% stake in the joint venture; Hasbro continues to hold a 40% stake in Discovery Family, and continues to program the network's daytime lineup with children's programming. Following the re-launch, the network's primetime lineup was replaced by reruns of family-oriented factual programming from Discovery Channel's library. Henry Schleiff, who leads sister networks such as Destination America and Investigation Discovery, leads the re-launched network, with Tom Cosgrove (who previously served as CEO of Discovery Channel and Science) as general manager. In re-launching Hub Network, Discovery executives noted that there would be a larger emphasis on programming of interest to both children and their parents; Warren argued that since ABC Family had become, in his opinion, aimed towards teenage girls, there was a gap in the broadcasting industry for a new, family-oriented network. With these shifts in the network's operation, it was announced on October 7, 2014 that Transformers: Robots in Disguise—a sequel to Transformers: Prime that had been scheduled to premiere on Hub Network, would instead air on Cartoon Network. Hasbro Studios president Stephen Davis felt that Cartoon Network was a more appropriate home for a Transformers series due to its male-oriented demographics, describing Hub Network's lineup as being "traditionally skewed towards girls". Other recent Transformers ''animated series preceding the original launch of The Hub also aired on Cartoon Network. Despite this, Davis remarked that Hasbro was still "100% committed" to its joint venture with Discovery. Despite the move for ''Robots in Disguise, fellow Hub Network Transformers series Transformers: Rescue Bots would remain on Discovery Family for its third season. Category:Channels Category:Male Characters